Quit Bugging Me Out!
by NZBigC
Summary: Three kids break into a museum after night falls, not knowing that doing so will create havoc upon all of them!
1. Chapter 1

"Ew, that's disgusting!" Amy Taylor screeched as a spider spat venom at here from inside a display. "Why did we have to come to this insect exhibit anyway?"

"Because we have to find out about the different kinds of species for our science test in two weeks," I answered.

"Not only that Josh, but we also have to find out why insects are so fascinating to the world," Andrew Marshall added. Amy and I both looked at each other.

"I guess I've already failed then," I groaned.

"Join the club," Amy whimpered.

"Hey look at that insect!" Andrew screeched in a high pitched voice as he ran up to a display that held a funny looking bug. A long slithery insect from inside the display case was jumping about. Andrew sounds like that when he gets excited. We don't know why, he just does.

"This place is giving me the creeps!" Amy Shivered. Amy wore a dark blue shirt over gray track pants. She nervously twirled a braid of her light blonde hair between her fingers. "When are we going?"

"In twenty minutes." A tall masculine man stood over her.

"Whoa!" Amy screamed as she fell over.

"Who do you think you are giving people frights like that?" she asked as she stood back up and dusted off her pants.

"Oh, sorry there," the man laughed. "Didn't mean to."

Amy looked up and gasped, "Oh, err, I didn't know it was you, Mr. Downs."

"That's ok. I wasn't trying to scare you," Mr. Downs laughed once again. "I just came over to see if you three were doing what you are meant to be doing.

"Oh, of course," I grinned. "We all ways do what you tell us to do."

"That's good to know," Mr. Downs smiled. "Well I hope that all three of you have jotted down enough notes for next week's test." Mr. Downs started to act serious for the first time. "Because if you fail this test, you are going to spend your whole summer at school trying to improve your grade."

My heart skipped a beat. "Next week?" I spat. I turned to look at Andrew. "You told me it was in two weeks!" He just shrugged and looked down at his shoes. I felt like throwing my folder at him.

"I'm sorry Josh, but I had to change it to next week when you were away. I emailed the class, and Andrew insisted that he would tell you."

I had to hold onto a nearby desk to stop me from falling over. "Uh,yeah. We've been getting down some notes for the test Mr. Downs," Amy answered, putting on a fake smile. "Don't worry about us."

"Well I'm glad to hear that," Mr. Downs replied. "Anyway, I hope you three are ready to go. The bus is here and we are leaving in five minutes."

"Sure thing," Andrew said. Mr. Downs walked off to go and talk to a few other students.

"What are we going to do!" I started to panic. "The test is next week and we've got nothing!"

"I'll tell you what we'll do," Andrew remarked. "We'll sneak in here tonight, just the three of us and study then."

"How do you think were going to that?" I asked.

Andrew looked around suspiciously to see if anybody was looking. Once he knew the coast was clear, he shoved his hands into his coat pocket, pulled them out and revealed a set of keys.

"You were saying?" Andrew smirked.

"What are they?" I asked.

"Keys to the building."

My eyes lit up at the site of the shiny keys. "How, when, where?" I spat out.

"You know when I went to the toilet a short while ago?" Andrew asked. I nodded. "Well I didn't actually go there. When we first came into the museum, I noticed a door marked Staff only, and knowing me, I just had to go check it out. So when I went to the toilets, I made sure no one was looking, and then I went into the room. That's when I saw these keys." He dangled them from his fingers. "Then I-"

"You didn't," Amy interrupted. Her mouth formed the shape of an O.

"I did," he replied with a grin on his face. "So what do you guys say? Will you join me tonight or what?"

"I don't know," Amy answered. "This seems like a bad idea to me."

It felt like there was a circus going on inside my stomach. On one hand, I was not ready for the test, and if I failed, I could kiss my summer vacation goodbye. On the other, breaking the law, not to mention creeping about in this scary building at night after hours gave me the creeps.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright," Andrew smiled. "It's not like anyone will be here to catch us. There is no way they will need security to look after a bunch of rotten, disgusting bugs like these at night." He stretched his arms out and signaled to the creepy crawlies around the room. "So do you guys trust me? Are you in?"

I looked at Amy and she just looked back at me.

"I guess," we both said at the same time.

"Great," Andrew grinned. "Nothing will go wrong."

If only I had listened to Amy.


	2. Chapter 2

I jumped off my bike and left it hidden behind some bushes not far from the museum, and then made my way over to a park bench. I didn't want anybody thinking that I was trying to break into the museum after dark, even if that was the case. I glanced down at the watch on my wrist that my mum had bought me for my birthday the previous year. 8:13. Amy and Andrew said they would be here by 8:05. I wondered where they could be. I sat down and a cool shiver ran down my spine as my bum made contact with the metal seat.

"Excuse me, sir," a dark voice said behind me. A hand flew down onto my shoulder and I nearly had a heart attack. I slowly turned around to see who it was, and my shock quickly turned to relief, and then anger. Amy and Andrew stood there, laughing and slapping each other silent high-fives. They thought they were the funniest people on this planet.

"What the hell were you thinking!" I shouted.

"Hey, quiet down!" Amy looked around cautiously, checking to see if anybody was around. When she was satisfied that no one saw anything, she turned her attention back to us. "It is a bit cold, isn't it?" She clasped her hands together and starting rubbing them together.

"No." I replied, despite being able to see my own breath.

"Let's cut to the chase and go in," Andrew spoke. He turned towards the building and started walking towards it. We both followed quickly.

It only took a few short moments before we reached the building. I stopped at the bottom of the concrete stairs and looked around. Other than the odd street lamp here and there, the night was completely dark, and it gave me the spooks. I suddenly wanted to be out of here and in there. I ran up the steps and caught up to them in no time.

Andrew finished walking up the cold stone steps and reached the door. He placed the key into the keyhole, turned the key, and fidgeted around with it for a few seconds. The door did not budge.

"What the?" he said, and took a step back, clearly dazed and confused. "It should open up!"

We came all this way for nothing? Surely this was not the end of our adventure, over before it had even started. "Maybe it's for the back door or something?" I suggested.

"Good idea!" He slapped me on the back, which left a stinging sensation, a probably a large red hand print. He took off down the steps and raced around the side of the museum. Amy and I looked at each other, and then ran off after him.

We got to the back, and surly enough, there was a door. Andrew inserted the key, and the second he turned it the door clicked open. We all let out a sigh of relief.

"A plus, here I come!" Amy grinned. I couldn't help but smile back. My summer was saved. There was no way I was going to fail this test and spend my break at school.

I walked through the open door and started shivering uncontrollably. It was a lot colder in here than outside, so I pulled my jacket around me even tighter and shoved my hands deep into my pockets. Amy saw this and laughed.

We made our way into the bug exhibit, and we pulled out our notebooks and started taking notes.

"Wow these bugs look even creepier now than during the day!" She shivered. I pulled out my left hand and wrapped my icy fingers around the back of her neck. She let out a loud shriek and Andrew and I laughed.

"Gotcha back," I said.

"Who'sss there?" a man hissed like snake from somewhere deep in the opposite end of the room. My body locked up and I froze on the spot. The voice seemed to cast a magical spell over all of us, because Andrew and Amy stood completely still too. "Who's there!" The voice shouted again. He seemed to be in a pretty bad mood.

"Quick, hide!" Amy whispered, and we all went dashing off into a different corner of the room. I slid across the ground and hid under a desk near the display of spiders. One jumped at me from inside the box and spat venom. Thankfully it was locked behind a glass wall. I moved as far back as I could until my back hit the wall, and I held my breath and tried to stay as still as I could. My heart was beating faster than a rock and roll drummer, and I was sure whoever was in here with us would be able to hear it.

I heard footsteps coming closer and closer to my area. I forced my hands down over my beating chest, praying that whoever it was could not hear it thumping. He stopped just before the desk I was under. He bent down and looked as he shone a torch that he was holding. Luckily I was under the next desk, but not luckily enough, as he would look under the desk I was under next! He stood back up and moved over to my desk and bent down. I could hear him hastily breathing. He sounded as if he had been smoking all his life. Some saliva dripped out of his mouth hit the ground inches from my feet. I braced myself for what was to come.

 _CRASSHHHHH_

Something went crashing to the floor near the front of the museum. The man jerked into a standing position and spun around. "Ssssssss," he said as he ran towhere the noise came from. The trapped air in my lungs suddenly swooshed out in relief. I placed my hand on the floor and went to push myself back up, but something stung my fingers and I fell back down. A burning sensation erupted through my hand, and I had to bite my tongue from screaming out. I looked at the ground and there was now a small little bubbling hole, as If somebody had just spilt acid. 'Weird' I thought. I don't think it was there when I first arrived.

"Lets go!" Amy appeared out of know where, startling me. She grabbed my shirt and pulled me up off of the ground. Andrew was already making his way for the exit. Amy and I started to run follow his lead, but being the klutz that I am, I knocked over a display holding a few large insects that I had never seen or heard of before, causing it to crash to the ground in a thunderous roar as the glass box shattered into a million pieces. The bugs from inside wriggled around in every direction as they made their escape.

"There you are!" I heard the man shout from behind us.

As we ran outside, I glanced around to see if the man was close. Thankfully he wasn't. I got a quick look at his face, and I stopped dead in my tracks. His face looked strange, and like nothing I had ever seen before. It was covered in hair, from his forehead to his chin, and his jaw did not look human. It looked like something out of one of those horror movies my dad watches late at night. Our eyes met, and I started to feel dizzy. I felt trapped, and there was nothing I could do about it. The man started to make his way towards me.

"Quick!" Andrew slapped me on the back, shaking me out of my dream-like state. I shook my head and turned to look at him. "Let's go!"

He didn't need to tell me twice. Without looking back, the three of us ran off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at school, I met up with Amy and Andrew at lunch in the cafeteria.

"How awesome was last night!" Andrew could hardly contain his excitement. "We were so toast if that janitor had caught us." He opened the brown paper bag he was holding and pulled out what looked like a rotten cheese sandwich, and took a huge bite out of it.

"Very funny," I scrunched my nose. "We were very lucky, that's for sure." I peered over my shoulder and saw Amy making her way over from the lunch line. I gave her a thumbs up but she replied by putting a finger down her throat.

"Spicy taco noodles again!" Amy sighed as she slumped down on the chair opposite me. "Seriously guys, I'm gonna have to start bringing my own lunch to school from now on. Even if it is those horrible tuna-mayo sandwiches my mother always makes, it sure is a lot better than this crud," she lifted her fork out of the bowl and let the brownish, wet glob splash back down onto her tray with a squishy thud. "I just can't take this anymore." Andrew and I laughed. She pointed at Andrew, "Even that mess of a sandwich you are eating looks more appetizing than this."

"Hey," Andrew shot back.

"Anyway," Amy said, turning her attention back on to me, "what's wrong with your hand?" Amy motioned to my left hand.

"Oh this?" I lifted it up to show the both of them. A white bandage was wrapped securely around the palm of my left hand. After I got home after our adventure, a nasty, bloody blister had appeared on my hand. "I don't really know what happened." Amy and Andrew gave confused stares. "But I do know that it happened last night in that bug museum, right before we got out of there."

"So you cut it on a piece of glass or something?" Andrew questioned as he stuck his hand into his brown paper bag, pulled out the other half of his appealing sandwich and took a bite.

"No," I shoved a piece of toast into my mouth and waited a few more seconds before replying. "That's the strange part. I got burnt by something, but I don't know what, or even how." I flipped my hand back and forth, as if doing so was going to reveal the answer.

"Burnt?" Amy exclaimed. "But there was no heat or fire at all." A puzzled expression struck her face.

"I know, I know. The janitor must have knocked over a bottle of acid or something when he was near the desk I was hiding under, because the next thing I knew, I was putting my hand in a hole that was burning through the floor." Andrew looked at his own hand and cringed at the thought of acid burning through his own flesh. "Anyway," I went on, "did any of you guys notice how strange the janitor looked? Like his face was deformed or something?" I grabbed at my own face and pulled it in different directions.

"Not really," said Amy. "It was too dark to see anything clearly." Andrew nodded in agreement. "Your eyes must have been playing games with you or something. You know what they say, how your eyes can play tricks on you, especially at night."

"That's true," I groaned with disappointment. "But it looked so real, even though you are probably right." I sat there for a few moments, considering if what I saw as in fact real or not.

Suddenly the lunch bell rang throughout the cafeteria, bringing me back into the real world. Andrew and Amy both laughed at me as I jumped up at the sound.

"I'll see you guys by my locker after school then?" I asked as I collected my things. They both nodded as we all got up and went to clear our trays and headed off for class.

Fifteen minutes had passed since school finished when Amy made her way towards my locker where Andrew and I were waiting. She did not seem to be in a happy mood.

"Uhh!" Amy cried. "That Mr. Grange really has it out for me!" She shoved her books into my stomach and I took note to carry them and not question why. " He put me in detention for tomorrow afternoon, because I was telling little miss Sonya Downing and her group to stop talking, and yet _I_ am the one that gets done for talking. _Me_! Life isn't fair!" Andrew started to laugh but quickly decided against it when Amy shot him an evil glare.

"Hey, everything is ok." Andrew hugged her in an attempt to comfort her, but I felt that it was more to make up for his mistake at laughing at her. "Mr. Grange will be Mr. Grange. He has always been like that." Andrew gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll tell you what. Since you seem to be in a bad mood, Robbie and I will give you our notes tomorrow after our second nightly visit to the museum."

My heart skipped a beat, and I was not sure if I had heard Andrew correctly. "Wha-what di-did you say?" I stammered.

"You heard me loud and clear _kid_." He grinned as big as he could. I really hate it when he calls me kid. We are all in the same grade, and I am only two months younger than him, so I don't even know why he calls me that. He knows I don't like it, so he will continue to do it till the end of time.

"You are what?" I asked

" _We_ ," he pointed at me and then to himself, "are going back to that museum, _tonight."_


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, this is rather unexpected."

"You can say that again."

Andrew and I stood outside the museum in the darkness of the night. It was 8:00, and to say it was dark was an understatement. The sun usually disappeared around 6:00pm around this time of the year, so we decided to meet up at eight, just to make sure we could gain entry undetected. However, as we stood outside the front doors of the museum, we did not expect to see it fully lit up, with the doors wide open, as if to welcome us in.

"What the," Andrew said as he walked up the steps toward the entrance. He walked to the side of one of the doors and read a poster labelled opening hours. He read for a few seconds, his finger guiding the way, and then he turned to face me. "It says here that the museum closes at nine tonight."

"Oh, that's a shame," was all I could say, even though I felt the exact opposite. I was totally dreading coming back to this place. I did not want to break in for a second night in a row, especially after what happened last night. On the other hand, I knew I needed to get back in there and finish what I started. Knowing the building was open for another hour calmed me a little bit as I did not have to creep around again, fearing for my life.

"It sure is," Andrew sulked. "It says here we have to pay two dollars to enter. I didn't bring any money with me."

"Good thing I did," I grinned. I pulled out my Velcro wallet that had pictures of Captain America fighting Spider-Man all over it. I threw it open to reveal a bunch of dollar bills stuffed inside one of the pockets that I received for my birthday a month ago.

"Bad move, kid. It looks like you will be paying for both of us."

My grin quickly slipped from my face. "Oh…"

"Let's get a move on then shall we? It's freezing out here, and we only have so much time before this place closes, and I do not want to break back in later tonight. Chop chop!"

Andrew and I both made our way quickly into the building and paid the entry fee. The old lady at the booth gave a grunt as she put her book down and snatched the bills out of my hand. She waved us through with another grunt and then went back to her book. Obviously she did not give a care about anything else on this planet other than her book. I got a quick look at the name of the book, and I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. How to be a caring person.

"Where to first?" I asked Andrew. We both stood still in the open foyer and looked around. The museum was like a maze. To our left was a series of Ancient Egyptian exhibits, so we definitely did not need to go there. Directly in front of us was an exhibit full of different plants and all things nature. To our right were half a dozen exhibits full of bugs, spiders, and every sort of creepy crawly from every corner of the world, from the spider ant of Vietnam to the Weta of New Zealand. Just imagining them sent a shiver down my spine.

"I'm not sure," Andrew replied. "But one thing I do know is that this place is giving me some very weird vibes. Have you noticed that there is not a single soul in this place other than us? It's just you and me kid."

I scanned the area we were standing in. It was a pretty large area, but Andrew was right. There was nobody here but us. I couldn't even see or hear anybody or any noises coming from any of the exhibits either. I turned back towards where we came from, and even the lady with her nose deep in her book only moments ago was no longer there. "Uh, maybe we should stick together."

"What, are you scared or something?" Andrew mocked.

"Me? Of course not. I only suggested it because you brought it up," I lied. I was indeed starting to freak out, but I had to keep my cool in front of Andrew, or he would never let me hear the end of it. Add to the fact that he would most definitely tell Amy too. That was something I was not willing to go through.

"Nah kid, I'm fine. I think we should each go to a separate exhibit so we can then compare notes later."

"Yeah, that, uh, sounds like a great idea." I was praying with all my might that he could not hear how shakily my voice was. Thankfully he didn't, because he did not bring it up or make fun of me.

"Alright then. I'll go to the nature exhibit, and you go to spider one. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Great," Andrew said. "See you back here in thirty." He started to walk off towards the plants exhibit but then stopped shy of the entrance. He turned back towards me. "Oh one more thing, how…" his voice trailed off and his jaw dropped. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as terror crept up over his face. His left hand shot out in front of him and he pointed his finger towards me. "Josh, be-behind you!"


	5. Chapter 5

My body instantly froze up, and I couldn't move a muscle. It felt as if a snake had suddenly wrapped its long slithery body tightly around my frame and wouldn't let go. My eyes darted from side to side. Slowly I turned around, eyes shut tight. I was too afraid to see what was standing behind me. I slowly opened one eye, and then the other. I blinked a couple of times, just in case I was not seeing things clearly. There was nothing there.

"Ha ha ha," Andrew laughed from behind me.

I turned back to face him. I could feel the blood slowly boil from deep within me, and I felt like throwing my notebook at his head. "You jerk!" I held my book back in my arm, ready to throw it at him, but decided against doing it.

"You should have seen your face! It was like something out of a horror movie when the character knows they are about to die." He slapped his leg as he continued to laugh at me.

I was so angry with him that I turned back towards the insect exhibits without saying anything, and stormed off towards the entrance. Before he could get a word in, I had already disappeared through the doors and into the exhibit.

A million different eyes from a thousand different bugs and insects fell on me as I made my way around the different displays. I had a sick feeling that each and every one of them wanted to make me their dinner. I shivered as I locked eyes with a huge spider that sat up against the window of its glass enclosure. I was very thankful that each bug and insect was held captive in a glass box just like that spider. I continued to walk around the room, stopping only for a moment at each display to write down notes of what was on the other side of the glass. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that my summer was going to be saved. I threw my arm up into the air and pumped my fist around. The pen I was holding slipped from my clenched fist and fell to the floor, and the insect inside the container scurried backwards into one of the many bushes in its enclosure.

"Sorry," I said to it, even though I knew it had no idea what I was saying. I got down onto my hands and knees to pick my pen back up off the ground.

"What'ssss the matter?" a voice asked from behind me.

My heart skipped a beat as I froze in my crouched position. The voice sounded exactly like the voice of the man that had discovered us in the museum yesterday. Panic swept over my body like a blanket, and I did not know what to do. My eyes scanned the ground, and then I saw my pen. I picked it up in my left hand and held it in there like a weapon. I sure hoped that I did not need to use it. I slowly stood back up and turned to face the person who just asked the question. I let out a whoosh of air as the feeling of panic slipped off my body and onto the ground. Even though this person looked similar in size to the person with the hairy face that I saw last night, this old man had a neat hair cut, and a dark grey beard. All the hair on his head was in all the right places.

"Uh, nothing sir," I said. "I'm just here writing notes. I have a test next week on bugs, and I really need to study for it. I figured what better way to do so than come here."

The old man cocked his head to the side and eyed me carefully, as if trying to decide on something. "Wait. Were you here yesterday?"

The panic blanket that had just fallen off me moments ago suddenly wrapped itself back around me, and my heart started to race at a million miles an hour. Maybe it was him! I couldn't believe it. I took a few steps backwards until my back hit a glass enclosure. There was nowhere for me to go.

The old man stepped closer towards me. "Yes, I remember now. You were one of those kids that came on that field trip with your class. I thought I recognised you."

Goodbye panic blanket. "Oh, yeah…" was that escaped my throat. I was too shaken to say anything else.

"Well I hope you have enough notes jotted down in that notebook of yours. I wouldn't want you to come back here again in your own time to study for a test."

"I think I have enough for now."

"Good, because we close in five minutes."

I peered down at the watch on my wrist. It read eight fifty-five. I couldn't believe I was in here for such a long time. It only felt like I was in here for five minutes. I really hoped that I had enough notes for the test. More importantly, I hope Andrew had enough notes from his time in the plants and nature section too. There was no way I was going to spend my vacation at school!

"I guess I will get going now," I said to the man. He stepped aside and held out his arm, and I quickly moved passed him and out of the exhibit and into the foyer. Andrew was standing there with his hands on his hips.

"Dude! Where have you been? I have been waiting here for the last twenty minutes." Andrew tapped his foot repeatedly against the cold hard floor.

"Sorry, I totally lost track of the time. I think we should get out of here."

"You think? I have been waiting to do just that. Let's go kid."

As we made our way towards the exit, I felt a shape pain in the back of my neck, as if someone was burning it. I slapped at it and turned back, and stopped dead in my tracks. That man who I just met in the bugs exhibit was standing in the centre of the foyer were Andrew and I had just stood moments ago, and he was looking directly at me. His eyes were dark, and his stare was evil. For some strange reason, I could not turn away, and I started to feel dizzy. I started to walk back towards him when a hand came flying down on my shoulder, breaking our lock. I looked over my shoulder and at Andrew's hand and then at his face..

"Hey, come on kid, let's go!"

I shook my head and looked back to where the man was standing, but he was gone. Goosebumps ran up and down my arms as I turned and quickly followed Andrew out into the night.

I prayed that that would be the last time I saw that man ever again. Sadly, it wasn't.


End file.
